Rating: NNNN
Suede’s comeback album is far better than it should be. Those who argue that this is just a retread of their early glory years are not being completely unfair. However, the band’s grandiose glam pop was never particularly modern back then, so why would they suddenly become futuristic visionaries at this late point in their career? It makes more sense to evaluate Bloodsports on how well it fulfills the role of a Suede album, which it does quite well.
There’s impressively little filler. The band supposedly wrote a ton of songs so they’d have the luxury of throwing away all but the best, and the results reflect that. And they simply sound great. No longer does it feel like we’re missing original guitarist Bernard Butler, nor does Brett Anderson’s flamboyant crooning show any signs of being dulled by the years.
Bloodsports is exactly what a Suede fan wants, and it also sounds remarkably less dated than anything their old rivals Oasis are up to these days.
Top track: Snowblind
